


A Lasting Tribute

by In_the_aroace_brigade



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Depression, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:41:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23996179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/In_the_aroace_brigade/pseuds/In_the_aroace_brigade
Summary: “Papyrus? PAP? Don’t fall asleep, you’ve had a bad head wound but you are going to be alright.” Papyrus blinked his eyes and stared at her. “OF COURSE I WILL BE ALRIGHT, I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS AFTER ALL. I WAS JUST HAVING A TOUGH TIME REMEMBERING SANS RIGHT NOW.”Undyne looked around before sighing and sitting him down on the floor, leaning him against the wall. She looked him straight in the eyesockets and brusquely said “Papyrus, you don’t have a brother. There is no Sans. He is a figment of your imagination, he isn’t real. Whatever magic you did to destroy the Barrier must have implanted these false memories in your mind, but it is okay, because we are free now and we’ll help you remember, okay?”MIND THE TAGS PLEASE
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 36





	A Lasting Tribute

**Author's Note:**

> This work has been a long time in the works! Finally regaining the energy to begin writing again, hopefully I can keep this up. For now, enjoy!

Papyrus woke from the blast, dazed as he lay on the ground just meters from the Barrier…or, well, where the Barrier had been. Instead there was a hole in the mountainside, strange sounds coming in from the human world and a sea of trees before his eyes. Papyrus stood up and walked a little closer, stumbling from his wounds. Stopping at the entrance, he gently poked an arm out, almost expecting for there to be some trickery. But he met no magical resistance, his arm instead falling back to his side from exhaustion. A shout behind him made him turn, looking back towards the rest of the Underground. He could hear Undyne coming closer, yelling.

“SOMETHING HAPPENED AT THE BARRIER! GUARDS, TO YOUR STATIONS! PREPARE FOR-“ She stopped dead as she entered, disbelief framing her face. Behind her, several royal guards followed, jostling to do as their captain commanded. Undyne held up a hand to halt them and walked forward cautiously, as if scoping out an ambush. Without warning, she created a glowing spear of magic and hurled it through the opening in the rock. Everyone watched as it sailed outwards and struck the ledge several yards away before fizzling out of sight. She turned to Papyrus.

“Papyrus…. the Barrier…what…how did you….” Papyrus shook his head insistently.

“IT WASN’T ME UNDYNE, IT WAS SANS, HE BROKE-“ Undyne cut him off, frowning.

“Sans? I don’t know of a monster named Sans. Where are they? Are they a human?” She walked back to her guardsmen and started giving orders. “You three, look for this Sans while the rest of you scout outside.”

Papyrus limped up to her and grabbed her arm. “NO UNDYNE, REMEMBER SANS? HE IS, WAS, MY OLDER BROTHER, WE LIVED TOGETHER IN SNOWDIN, HE MAKED AWFUL PUNS ALL THE TIME AND DRANK KETCHUP.” Papyrus had closed his eyes, trying to picture his older brother in his mind, but found that it was hard to concentrate on an image of him. Papyrus had to focus for a moment to be able to see him, everything drifting away when Undyne gently shook his shoulder.

“Papyrus? PAP? Don’t fall asleep, you’ve had a bad head wound but you are going to be alright.” Papyrus blinked his eyes and stared at her. “OF COURSE I WILL BE ALRIGHT, I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS AFTER ALL. I WAS JUST HAVING A TOUGH TIME REMEMBERING SANS RIGHT NOW.”

Undyne looked around before sighing and sitting him down on the floor, leaning him against the wall. She looked him straight in the eyesockets and brusquely said “Papyrus, you don’t have a brother. There is no Sans. He is a figment of your imagination, he isn’t real. Whatever magic you did to destroy the Barrier must have implanted these false memories in your mind, but it is okay, because we are free now and we’ll help you remember, okay?”

Papyrus tried protesting once more and she simply gritted her teeth before grabbing two of the guards that were nearby. “Take him to Alphys and let her know that Papyrus is suffering from delusions about having a brother named Sans, most likely due to head trauma from breaking the Barrier. Don’t let him wander about, who knows what he would get into right now in this suggestable state.” The guards nodded and, almost reverently, hoisted Papyrus up between them and carried him away from the Barrier.

Papyrus began squirming, he had to get someone to remember! Sans was…gone…but that didn’t mean monsters shouldn’t remember what he did! He was the one deserving this praise! The guards held on to him tighter and didn’t let him out of their arms. Instead he turned his head around and screamed back at Undyne. “SANS WAS MY BROTHER AND I REMEMBER HIM! HE ATE MY SPAGHETTI, EVEN WHEN IT DIDN’T TASTE GOOD! HE WAS A SENTRY IN SNOWDIN AND HE SOLD HOTCATS AND GAVE HIS LIFE TO BREAK THE BARRIER SO WE…SO I….” the shock overcame Papyrus and he passed out, the last vision in his dying eyelights that of Undyne staring at him mournfully.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It had been several weeks since the Barrier had fallen and many monsters had already begun to move out of the Underground to homes on the Surface. The human world had accepted them about as well as could be expected, with some racism but general goodwill. Treaties had been drafted, meetings had with world leaders, and many, many, many feasts and speeches, all of which Papyrus was expected to attend. He was honored everywhere he went by both human and monster, and also feared by both for the power he could be hiding. In fact, he could not wander the Surface world without an escort made up of both humans and monsters, all in the name of protection. Papyrus wasn’t sure who was the one being protected, but he accepted it as a part of his life from now on.

The only place he could walk around by himself was in the Underground, wandering around the slowly emptying kingdom of monsters. The first several days he had been under supervision here as well, concerns about his mental well-being repeatedly brought up. Eventually he learned to mask his face, to lie, to give them what they needed to hear. But every time they asked him to denounce Sans, a little bit inside his soul seemed to die as well. The façade he presented to the public was still joyful, if perhaps a little weary, though everyone gave his explanation for him. “You can’t expect to destroy something as powerful as the Barrier with no side effects, Papyrus.” Asgore had said to him softly one day when he pulled the skeleton aside for a cup of tea.

Papyrus hesitated a moment before beaming at the king, instead imagining he was discussing his royal guard training with Sans. It was becoming easier to see him in his mind, like the bits of his Soul that had drifted away were just making room for him there. “I know, King Asgore, and I am truly grateful to everyone for helping me through this difficult time.” He had redirected the conversation after that to Asgore’s plans for a garden on the Surface, and if the king noticed this, he was kind enough to not mention it.

The toll on his HP could not be ignored, however, which was how Papyrus found himself led into Asgore’s living room in his house on the Surface by Undyne, other monsters surrounding the room. He looked around merrily. “ARE WE HAVING ANOTHER PARTY? I’M AFRAID I DON’T REMEMBER THIS ONE BEING ON MY SCHEDULE, BUT I AM MORE THAN HAPPY TO ATTEND!” Undyne sat down across from him, Alphys beside her. On the couch beside him was Asgore, and in an armchair to his left was Toriel. Over near the kitchen were the royal dogs, and even Grillby stood off in a corner, conversing with Gerson.

Toriel leaned across the gap and lay a hand on his knee. “Papyrus, we are all very worried about your HP. It has continued to drop ever since you broke the border, no matter what healing magic we have performed. We have even consulted human healers for help to see what else we could do. Everyone here-“ she looked around at the assenting nods before turning back to him “-cares for you very much, Papyrus. We are here for you and want you to be happy. We see the way your face drops as soon as you think you are alone, how you force yourself to smile for our sakes. Please Papyrus, this isn’t healthy, you need help.” Toriel broke off, a couple of tears streaming down her fur for the young skeleton that she had practically adopted since the Barrier broke. Upon learning he had no family to speak of, she had taken him under her wing, even doing cooking lessons with him (Undyne came as well, supposedly just to make sure that he got there safely but her own cooking skills had improved dramatically).

Undyne spoke up, quickly breaking the silence “Papyrus, do you…still believe that you had a brother named Sans? I don’t want what you think we want to hear, tell us the truth.”

Papyrus opened his mouth to object, to speak the lies he had learned to say. “Of course I-“

Before he could finish, a hand on his shoulder turned him to face Asgore, and suddenly he was in a confrontation. The king smiled sadly and pointed to his displayed health. “No hiding this time Papyrus. If you lie then we’ll see your stats fall again. We didn’t want to do it this way, but you left us no choice.”

Papyrus felt the world slipping away from him as the part that he had tried to keep hidden for all this time was brought out into the open. He could see Asgore’s mouth moving somewhere in front of him, but it seemed like everything was moving in slow motion as the room dimmed. He thought he faintly heard shouts coming from all around him until a gentle warmth surrounded him, his bones relaxing into it. It smelled faintly of fries, burgers, ketchup, and a gentle smokiness. It was so close to Sans, but Papyrus would never get a chance to take in the scents that Sans would bring into the house after spending a few hours at Grillby’s.

This became the final straw and Papyrus began sobbing, letting loose all the emotions that he had kept bottled up. He curled into the warmth and felt someone put their arms around him, another body murmuring above his head and pressing against his back, keeping him still between the two. Rather than feeling claustrophobic Papyrus needed more; more pressure, more warmth, more of the feeling of being surrounded. It was almost like what his brother’s magic had felt like the few times that he had used it on Papyrus, normally when he had been a kid and was about to slip and fall. To Papyrus, this was love and family. His entire body shook from his bawling, not that he had the presence of mind to care about that right now.

Then there was a new intrusion, as if someone was trying to coat his soul. He could feel magic attempting to heal him, but he resisted. This farce was getting harder and harder to continue, he was so very tired of lying to himself, to his friends, to the rest of the world. One of the monsters pressed against him let out an exclamation, not that Papyrus could be bothered to make out what was said. Suddenly there were even more monsters surrounding him, calling out to him and touching his skull, his armor, tugging at his scarf. Papyrus’ mind cleared for a moment, they couldn’t take the scarf away from him! One of his favorite memories was when Sans found him this scarf and cleaned it up for him, a birthday present long ago. It was a bit tattered now but Papyrus had sewn any rips together and always treated it gently.

He started struggling, attempting to move a hand up to clasp the scarf and pull it back towards himself. Hands grabbed his own and grasped them tight, holding them away from his chest. Others were holding him still, the warmth a constant beside him. The magic was back on his soul, being applied so forcefully that it overtook his weak defenses and flooded around him, dulling his grief and allowing his Hope to rise. He kept his eyes closed, allowing his other senses to return first. His sense of touch had never really left, but suddenly he felt everyone who was holding him instead of general resistance. If he hadn’t been so drained he would have tried to rid himself of them now, all the different pressures all over being almost too much to bear. Instead he shuddered back a sob and trembled in their embrace, willing his body not to move. In that moment he gave up on dying and focused on being comfortable living. His body and mind were exhausted from the battle, and he slipped into a deep sleep.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Papyrus ran as quickly as he could, hoping that his brother was still alright. The note hadn’t given him much information; in fact, the only thing it had said was to get to the Barrier as fast as he could if he wanted to see his brother one last time. He raced through a golden hallway and down the grey passage to the empty throne room, wishing that he knew where all of Sans’ shortcuts were. He raced through the golden flowers, shouting out an apology to those that lay trampled beneath his feet. Another grey hallway and-THERE! THE BARRIER!

Papyrus skidded to a stop, panting as the walls phased between black and white around him. Near the exit was his brother and his little flower friend, both staring in the direction of the outside world. “SANS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE WITH FLOWEY, ARE YOU OKAY? I WAS SO WORRIED WHEN I SAW THE NOTE.”

Sans whirled around at his voice, his face shifting from grimness to one of horror. His little friend started laughing. “Oh, I’m so glad you made it Papyrus, it will make this moment much more memorable…for two of us at least.” Flowey’s face had brightened considerably, petals shaking in merriment.

“no, you lied to me didn’t you, you brought me here to watch you kill him!” Sans magic surrounded Flowey and pushed him into the ground. “i should have known i couldn’t trust you.”

Papyrus raced forward “SANS WHAT IS GOING ON, WHY ARE YOU HERE WITH MY FRIEND? AND FLOWEY, WHAT DID YOU MEAN THAT ONLY 2 OF US WOULD REMEMBER THIS MOMENT?” Trepidation filled his voice.

Flowey had stopped laughing as soon as Sans had attacked him, his face contorting from the pressure. “I didn’t lie to you, trashbag. I just thought your dear little brother would like to see you one last time before you kill yourself.” Sans’ eyesockets widened and he released his grip on Flowey, just in time for Papyrus to snatch Sans off the ground.

“WHAT DOES HE MEAN, KILL YOURSELF? SANS, EXPLAIN TO ME RIGHT NOW! WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THE BARRIER?” His voice shook and tears pooled down his face, hoping that Sans would correct him, that Flowey really was lying, that his brother wasn’t trying to leave him forever. Normally he would scold Flowey for calling Sans names, but this was too important.

Sans hesistated in his grasp, his face blanking out further as he stared at his feet. “you aren’t supposed to be here paps, go home. i’ll…see you around.” His brother’s voice was quieter than he had ever heard it, a faint tremor at its core.

“I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE UNTIL SOMEONE TELLS ME WHAT IS GOING ON!” He held his brother tighter in his arms, glaring down at the little flower who had begun to giggle once more.

“Well you see Papyrus, I think there is a way to break the Barrier, but your dear older brother has to help me. I have access to the 6 human souls already collected, and with tras- I mean Sans’ magic, this forcefield will come crashing down!” Flowey smiled gleefully.

“IS…is this true Sans? Is there really a way to break the Barrier?” Papyrus whispered, looking back at the small skeleton in his arms, hope filling his bones. Sans’ head shifted up and down ever so slightly, not glancing up to meet Papyrus’ gaze. In some way he seemed defeated, as if he had lost some sort of internal struggle.

“yeah pap, the little shi- flower came to me and told me how we had to do it. so you need to go tell the king and the others, okay? go see undyne, she will want to be the first out the door to make sure it is safe.” Sans wrung his phalanges, head still bowed.

“BUT SANS, EVERYONE SHOULD BE HERE TO SEE YOU BREAK IT! YOU SHOULD WAIT FOR THEM ALL TO BE HERE SO EVERYONE CAN SEE HOW UNLAZY YOU-“

“pap, it might be dangerous so no one can be here. you need to leave, n o w.” Sans’ voice took on a sudden chill, causing Papyrus to slowly set him down.

“SANS? WHY DO YOU SOUND SO ANGRY? YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY, YOU’LL FINALLY GET TO SEE THE STARS! AND I WILL BE ABLE TO DRIVE A RED CAR JUST LIKE MY BED, AND EVERYONE WILL LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER…RIGHT?” Papyrus tried not to sniffle, he was far too old to get upset over Sans talking to him like that. Quiet yelling, he called it, and he had only heard his brother use it a few times in his whole life.

“Yeah Sans, things will be great up on the Surface and everyone will be SOOO happy.” Flowey chirped out, head swaying side to side cheerfully. Papyrus thought that a look had passed over his little friend’s face when he said this, but decided it was the shadows from the ever-changing walls around them. Flowey was helping to break the Barrier, there isn’t a reason he would look like he was about to hurt someone.

“leave pap. please…i need to you leave and whatever you do, don’t come back until after the Barrier is down.” Why did it sound like his brother was begging him now? Was he scared that Papyrus would be hurt if he stayed? Sans should be the one to leave, he only had one HP! And Papyrus was sure his magic would be just as good as Sans’, he practiced every day and had so much more energy than Sans!

Papyrus stood his ground and opened his mouth to protest when his brother reached a hand out and grasped his soul within his magic. “WHAT- WHAT ARE YOU DOING SANS? LET ME STAY, I CAN HELP YOU!” Papyrus struggled to move, but the weight upon his soul was too strong to overcome. Sans flicked his wrist and Papyrus flew backwards, crashing into the wall by the exit to the palace.

“I SAID L E A V E.” Papyrus lay crumpled along the wall, in shock that his brother would attack him like this. Tears began to flow again as he stood up and strode out of the room; Sans clearly didn’t want him around for this. Maybe he wanted the glory of breaking the Barrier all to himself, so that he would be popular.

Papyrus paused before entering the throne room. Since when had his brother ever cared about popularity? And if it really was so dangerous that Papyrus had to leave, then Sans needed someone to protect him! Someone cool and strong, who if they had hair would definitely have long flowing golden locks…in short, Sans needed him! 

He raced back towards the Barrier, desperation filling his steps. Their voices echoed down the hallway. “Wow trashbag, I didn’t realize you were so suicidal. You should have told me sooner.” Flowey’s voice seemed different than usual. And suicide? He didn’t understand, was Sans killing himself?

Sans’ voice was tired. “just get it over with quickly, okay?”

Papyrus was filled with fear. He rounded the corner when he saw his flower friend holding Sans’ soul aloft triumphantly, his brother crumpled on the ground, slipping away to dust. A wicked grin was plastered upon Flowey’s face as he gleamed at Papyrus before thrusting himself and the soul through the Barrier.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Papyrus felt as if his bones were weighed down by bricks, his exhaustion great. There was a blanket wrapped around his frame, and it seemed that he was laying down in someplace that was not his own bed. An attempt to open his eyesockets was met with crust and the ghosts of the tears he had shed, the first true tears since the day of the incident. He hadn’t felt the need to cry ever since, or maybe he couldn’t bring himself to start.

With a sigh he pulled his eyesockets open, the light of a nearby lamp forcing them nearly closed again. A moment later he had adjusted and slowly was able to take in his surroundings. He was still on the couch, but this time no one was in sight. The tv had been left on, some commercial for a monster accessible car currently playing. Muffled voices came from the direction of the kitchen, but from what Papyrus could tell, there was only 2 monsters left. He sat up, intending to sneak away, but a sudden “Papyrus!” changed his plans.

Papyrus turned, too tired to put the fake smile he had worn so long back into place. Through the doorway he could see Asgore sitting at the kitchen table, staring in his direction. Behind him, Toriel stood at the sink, her head turned to glance over her shoulder. “H-Hello, your majesties. I apologize for-“ Papyrus began, attempting to thwart further questions.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he spotted a flash of yellow, causing him to trail off. If Sans had died in the blast, wouldn’t Flowey have passed as well? He hadn’t seen the little flower since that fateful day, but Flowey always did seem to pop up out of nowhere.

A gentle shoulder shake brought him back to the present, and he shook his head to find that Asgore had gotten up from the table while he was lost in thought to come over to the couch where he sat. “Papyrus, your body and Soul underwent a great strain, please don’t overexert yourself. If we hadn’t had as many people here as we did, you might of…” Asgore trailed off and looked pleadingly at his wife, who was bringing a couple slices of pie into the living room that had been so crowded just hours before.

Toriel quietly set the plates down on the end table and settled into the chair near him. “Papyrus, you almost died. Whatever strain you have been bearing has depleted your Hope, and today you almost lost what little you have left. I managed to heal you a bit with the help of the others, but we MUST figure out how to get you back to a more stable level. At this point it may already be too late for you to return to normal.”

Papyrus sat there numbly, only half hearing the words until the last sentence. He looked up in confusion when she mentioned that his Hope may never be normal again. “But I thought that you couldn’t lose HP from your base level?” Papyrus murmured, still unable to meet their eyes.

Asgore shifted and sat on the couch next to him, clasping his large paws together as he stared at the floor. “That is the case…usually. I would pull you into another confrontation to show you but we aren’t sure yet what triggered all this. However, when we faced off earlier, your HP was only 9/9.”

Papyrus recoiled in shock, causing both goat monsters to place a paw on his shoulders, fear upon their faces. Toriel was saying something to Asgore but Papyrus didn’t hear a single word, instead turning inward to perform a check. Every stat had been lowered by at least a little from the lack of training, but his HP…he had been at 680 before the Barrier had broken, what was happening to him? He could feel himself hyperventilating, his bones clattering together as he shook, and there was an overall sensation of being underwater.

He vaguely felt the couch shifting around him and then his back was pulled against a large warm mass that rumbled softly and lifted up and down. Then there was a firm grip around each of his wrists and someone pulled them down closer to his body, locking him in place without restricting his breathing. It started to ground him, and he was able to notice how rhythmic the movement behind him was, causing his breathing to begin to slow. Then his senses started to become available once more, and he realized that the mass behind him was actually Asgore, who was holding him in place while encouraging him to take gentle breaths. Meanwhile Toriel was in the kitchen brewing tea, but her eyes were on Papyrus.

A pang of guilt struck Papyrus when he realized precisely how worried both of these monsters were for him, despite him not having spent much time with either prior to the Barrier falling. Part of him wanted to say it was just because they believed he was the savior of monsterdom, yet the look in Toriel’s eyes felt like so much more. And he was sure that if he was able to turn around, he would see something similar from Asgore. This became the final straw and for the second time that day, tears slipped down his cheekbones. This time did not bring the full body sobs of earlier, but instead a tired weeping that he felt down to his Soul. Through the tears he saw Toriel’s feet draw closer and a mug full of golden flower tea was pressed into his hands. Part of him also felt the check that was being performed and he dully wondered if HP could fluctuate so wildly that it would have changed, but he couldn’t bring himself to care in that moment.

“Drink up, Papyrus, it will help.” Toriel stated firmly as Asgore let go of his wrists, allowing him to lift the heavy mug up to his mouth. It was the perfect temperature, as he knew it would be, and he took a moment to close his eyes and breathe the scent in deeply, pretending for a moment that Sans was the one who gave him this mug after a rough day. He felt a faint peace in his Soul, and for the first time since that fateful day he could actually almost believe his brother was nearby.

The two goat monsters settled back down beside him; the pie laying forgotten on the table beside him. After a few quiet moments Asgore spoke up. “While we monsters do not know how best to help you through this, the humans have many doctors that can help treat sicknesses of the mind and soul. An appointment has already been made for you with one who has already shown themselves adept with assisting our kind through the transition to the Surface. They are very nice and are an avid cook; I think you will enjoy talking to them.”

Papyrus nodded faintly and took another sip of tea. Sensing his acceptance, Toriel placed a paw on his knee. “We of course will still be here for you, but what you have been experiencing is not something we have seen before. Monsters have lost their HP in this manner before, but normally it takes a great loss. We know you say that this other monster was your brother, but I personally checked our birth records; no such monster has ever existed. All we know is that you were found as an orphan in Snowdin in your teens, living there alone ever since. Even you didn’t know who your family was when asked about it those many years ago. Papyrus, we want to believe you, but whatever magic it is that you performed to give us this miracle has changed you. Please,” she paused and lifted his chin so he was forced to look into her warm eyes, “let us help you.”

He dropped his head, staring deeply into his cup. If he said yes to this, would they force him to let go of Sans? He didn’t want to forget his brother, but it had been made clear to him that he couldn’t continue on in this way. Their kind had finally made it to the Surface and yet he would give it all up to spend one more day with his favorite numbskull. He raised his eyes to glance tiredly at the two goat monsters who were being kind enough to give him some time to process. With a sigh he raised the mug and drained it, setting it off to the side before nodding. “Okay. I’ll talk to the human doctor. I won’t promise anything, but maybe they can help me figure out what is real and what’s not.”

Asgore breathed a sigh of relief as Toriel pulled Papyrus into an embrace, startling him. “I know, and that is all that we can ask. Now for tonight, Asgore has been kind enough to make space for both of us to sleep so that we can keep an eye on you just in case I need to heal you again during the night.”

Asgore rubbed his head sheepishly. “Sorry that you’ll be sleeping on the couch, Papyrus, but I think you are the only one of us three that will fit it, and Toriel is in the guest room.” The king spared a glance at the former queen, who was pointedly refusing to meet his eyes.

“The couch will be fine, your Majesty. We – I – often fell asleep on the couch Underground while watching the newest Mettaton special. This one is very comfortable; I would be delighted to stay the night.”

Toriel had stood up while he was talking and hugged him one last time. “With that settled I am going to get ready for bed. Papyrus, let us know if you need anything, alright?” She bustled out of the room while Asgore pulled a blanket and pillow out from a nearby closet.

“Do you need anything else Papyrus?” Papyrus shook his head at the king’s inquiry and lay back down on the couch, pulling the covers over himself. He wasn’t going to bother mentioning that he had always slept best when Sans had read “Fluffy Bunny” to him.

Asgore waved goodnight and turned out the lights while heading to bed himself, leaving Papyrus alone in the dark living room. The exhaustion of his day was quickly catching up to him and combined with the soothing healing powers of the tea Papyrus had little doubt that he would sleep well for tonight at least. But as his eyesockets began to close he saw that glimpse of yellow again, and his final thought before unconsciousness was that he had to get ahold of that flower.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It did not take long to find Flowey; in fact, it seemed like the flower was waiting for him when Papyrus returned to his house in Snowdin. It had been a couple weeks since his breakdown and Papyrus had to admit that the human doc seemed to be helping. At the very least, his Hope had stabilized, and his friends were content to allow him some time alone, with the promise of returning for dinner at Dogamy and Dogaressa’s new house. He appreciated everyone who was taking time out of their busy lives to help keep him safe but even he, The Great Papyrus, needed a chance to relax by himself. It hadn’t taken much convincing at all for them to let him go for a long walk; with the happy couple expecting pups in just a few short weeks they needed all the time they could get to prepare.

Flowey was sitting near his shed, the flower almost looking downhearted. “Finally remembered that your friend exists, huh?” Flowey sneered at the tall skeleton as he sat down in the snow next to them.

“Sorry, Flowey. I didn’t think that you had survived, since…” Papyrus stopped himself, not wanting to undo all the time and progress the therapist had been making.

Flowey laughed, but to Papyrus it didn’t quite feel real. “You mean like that smiling tra- I mean brother of yours, Sans? No, only one of us had to die to break the Barrier, and since he was suicidal anyways, I figured he should have the honor.” Flowey preened his petals as Papyrus turned to share at him in shock.

“Flowey, what do you mean? And how do you also remember Sans? No one else seems to remember him and sometimes even I struggle to picture him in my mind.” Papyrus had practically leapt to his feet, causing the little flower to have to pop into the ground and out again a few paces away.

“HEY WATCH IT, you almost stepped on me!” Flowey exclaimed, his face contorted in rage. Or at least Papyrus thought that it might have been but there was a large smile back on the flower’s face so quickly he wondered if it had just been a trick of the light. “And yes, your brother wanted to die. He wanted to die many times and I finally gave him the chance to do it for the good of all monsters. He was soooo happy to get to die so that you could see the Surface. As for your other question, you and I are the only ones who remember him because we were the only ones there when he committed suicide. Honestly, I am surprised it even worked, Sans must have been really determined to make you happy in order to actually provide the last bit of magic to break the Barrier.”

Flowey continued talking as Papyrus zoned out, stunned by this information. He didn’t even bother to suggest that Flowey also try to convince the others that Sans was real; at this point they would just think the flower was doing it to torment him. And his brother did this for him to see the Surface? Didn’t Sans realize that when he talked about watching the sunset, he wanted to do it with Sans at his side? Why did Sans want to-

His thoughts were interrupted by a leaf smacking his boot. “ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME YOU NUMBSKULL? I SAID your brother kept a secret journal; it is probably in that pig sty he calls a room.” Flowey grumbled and disappeared, muttering something about idiotic monsters.

Papyrus stared up at his house, lost in thought. He hadn’t even bothered to check Sans’ room, and the others hadn’t acknowledged there was a door at the end of the hall, as if they couldn’t even see it. He had only been allowed back in under supervision for the past several months, even before his friend’s intervention, and checking on Sans’ room had never been a priority in the few times he was here as he was spending it packing up his own belongings. But now, with no one about and a tug pulling at his Soul, he absentmindedly rose to his feet and brushed the snow off his battle body, intent on investigating Flowey’s claims.

The tug felt stronger the closer he got to Sans’ former room, and a voice in the back of his mind wondered why he hadn’t felt this the last time he was here. He paused for a second outside the second bedroom, gripping the door handle, before gathering his determination and forcing his way in.

The bedroom looked exactly how it had the last day his brother had been alive, and somehow that disturbed Papyrus more than anything else. It seemed as if the rest of the Underground had shifted and changed when the Barrier broke in order to account for Sans’ absence in it, yet this room was untouched by whatever magic had been done. Stepping further into the room made Papyrus feel as if time itself had not only stopped but didn’t exist here. Unable to shake this feeling he simply turned to the trash tornado that had been left behind and saw a notebook swirling within it. Every movement he made was so slow and yet entirely too fast and soon the notebook was open on his lap while he sat on the floor, all else forgotten as he began to read.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Papyrus flipped over the last page and closed the journal, his Soul heavy and mind troubled. There had been much in there about RESETS and time traveling and the Void and humans and…it was all so much. Papyrus hadn’t been able to figure out some of the more technical stuff, but he was able to piece together more about his brother. Sans…Sans apparently worked so much harder than Papyrus had ever given him credit for and cared for him deeper than Papyrus thought possible. He had sacrificed his own career to move Papyrus out to Snowdin so that he could be around whenever his little brother needed him, and make sure that Papyrus lived the best life possible here in the Underground. And then he made the final sacrifice to give Papyrus a chance on the Surface…

Papyrus wiped away his tears as he skimmed through a couple pages he had bookmarked. His older brother had also felt tremendous pain and had wanted to give up so many times but had kept going for Papyrus’ sake so that he wouldn’t be alone. Papyrus wasn’t entirely sure if it was as bad as Flowey had said, but there wasn’t a way for him to ask Sans now. Even the journal didn’t mention a way to break the Barrier beyond using the human souls, and from what Papyrus was able to read of Sans’ messy handwriting his brother had been part of the project trying to achieve that for years.

Suddenly he became aware of how much time must have passed and he leapt to his feet, tucking the journal away for future study in the folds of his scarf, running out the door. He had finally convinced the others that he was okay and then he spent the whole afternoon reading about the one person they were convinced didn’t exist. At least Papyrus didn’t feel like he was going crazy anymore; from what he had read something similar had happened with Sans and this W.D. Gaster.

He had only made it a little further along the path to Waterfall, just out of sight of the main part of town when a vine came out of the ground and tripped him, sending him sprawling into the snow. The notebook shifted in his scarf and he clutched it, hastily trying to protect his one connection with the only family he knew.

Turning, he found Flowey sitting there, scowling. “I know you don’t have ears but I didn’t think you were deaf. Why are you in such a hurry anyways, you were only inside the house for a couple minutes.” Flowey smirked, holding up a no doubt stolen pocket watch. Papyrus lifted it closer to his face and was shocked to see that it was indeed as if no time had passed while he had been in his brother’s room. However, he could tell that Flowey knew more than he was letting on as well.

He gingerly stood up, handing the watch back to Flowey. “I’m sorry, I thought…it doesn’t matter. How did you know that Sans’ journal was in his room?”

Flowey glowered at him. “Didn’t you read the journal? Sans isn’t the only one who was mostly immune to the resets. He, I, and Gaster, though Gaster is stuck in the Void so I don’t think you can even count him. And now Sans is in there too! Isn’t that nice, together forever.” Flowey simpered, his tone not quite matching what he was saying.

“Wait, does that mean Sans is still alive? How do you get to the Void?” Papyrus was full of questions, willing to do whatever it takes to see his brother again.

The little flower howled with laughter. “You wouldn’t be able to do it, even Sans couldn’t speak to Gaster as he passed through the Void and his magic was able to take him there in the first place. Yours is of a different type, so you would just kill yourself attempting it.”

The tall skeleton sighed, another of his plans dashed. He turned to leave to head back to the Surface, not wanting to be late, when another vine gripped his boot. “I wouldn’t tell anyone about the notebook if I was you Papyrus. They already think you are crazy; do you want them to take this away from you too?”

He nodded silently to Flowey, which caused the vine to loosen and the Flowey to suddenly bounce and wave cheerily. “BYE BYE PAPYRUS, DON’T DWELL TOO MUCH ON THAT BOOK!” And with a snap he vanished into the ground.

Papyrus trotted through the Underground, already planning to re-read Sans’ journal the next time he was given time alone. There had to be a way for him to talk to Sans!

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

He tossed the journal down with a groan; no matter how much he searched there wasn’t a way for him to contact Sans. He had casually tried to chat with Alphys one time when he, Undyne and the former Royal Scientist were hanging out and she had simply looked startled and asked him where he had learned that. He had backed off and shrugged, claiming that it was on some papers he had seen in the dump. He was pretty sure she bought his excuse because the next day when she called Undyne she was apparently down in the Underground looking for them. He had played innocent after that and she had quickly given up when he reminded them it had been a few weeks since he had last been down there.

Speaking of the Underground, Asgore had informed him that they were planning to have most of the monsters moved out within the following week, and he was being allowed to go collect the rest of his belongings from Snowdin by himself. Papyrus picked up the notebook once more and leafed through the pages, trying to find an idea of some way to honor the memories of those lost on what may be his last chance to be alone in their former home. He already had some ideas, but it felt like it was missing something. He reached the loose papers stuffed in at the end and paused at one, smiling slightly. Yes, that would be perfect.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

He arrived at the exit from the Ruins, pausing at the door mentioned in his brother’s notes. Sans had spent hours here, telling knock knock jokes with the voice on the other side. Papyrus had been happy to figure out it had been Toriel, and was glad his brother had a friend who shared his terrible taste in puns.

With a smile, Papyrus raised a gloved hand and knocked at the door, feeling almost sheepish as he said out loud “Knock knock.”

He didn’t expect an answer, and therefore almost fell over when a warm voice answered, “Who’s there?”

Scrambling to think of something, Papyrus opened the journal and flipped through the pages, pausing at the first joke he saw. “Dishes” he called out.

The voice chuckled and replied, “Dishes who?”

Internally groaning while putting the journal away, Papyrus finished “Dishes a very bad joke.”

There was moment of silence before the voice began laughing, and the door opened. “Why Papyrus, I didn’t know you were a fan of knock-knock jokes. I have a whole book of them if you would like to borrow it sometime!” Toriel exclaimed, looking delighted to see him.

“Hi Toriel! I am afraid I don’t know too many, but maybe I will read that book. Are you also finishing your packing?” Papyrus looked around her for any bags she may have.

Toriel chuckled fondly. “I am, but I am not quite done yet. I just thought I heard someone out here in the snow and I decided to investigate. I am so glad I did, I love a good joke. By the way, I think the others are coming over for dinner later, I am making spaghetti.”

Papyrus smiled “That sounds delicious Toriel. I am sure you will do it justice. I have to get going, good luck with your packing!” He marched off, waving behind him at the still giggling goat monster in the doorway.

It didn’t take him long to walk through the beginning of the forest, the snow crunching beneath his boots. Sans’ sentry station was still there, though he wasn’t entirely sure now who it belonged to; and yet there was a bottle of ketchup just like his brother used to drink waiting under the counter. He smiled ruefully, and pulled it out to examine it, finding the container only half full. He shook his head and pulled a small container of ketchup out of his armor, carefully unscrewing both of the caps to refill the bottle. Whoever this belonged to would find a welcome surprise when they came back, if they did return at all. He knew his brother wouldn’t be able to use it now, but he liked to think Sans would have appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

Papyrus replaced the bottle to appear otherwise untouched and pulled his slip of paper out. Sentry station? Check. He smiled at the list on the page, his Soul feeling full. This quiet tribute to his brother was exactly what he needed. Seeing that he needed to head to Grillby’s next Papyrus tucked the paper away and strode towards town.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Papyrus wiped his mouth with a napkin and sighed in contentment. He understood why Sans came here so often, Grillby was truly a fantastic cook and bartender. The milkshake was the best he had ever had. “Thanks Grillby! I am glad to have caught you on your last day down here! How much do I owe you?” Papyrus said brightly, reaching for his wallet. Grillby crackled and waved his hand, murmuring that everyone’s tabs today were on the house, since it would be hard to move all this leftover food to the Surface. Better to just buy fresh ingredients in the new location. Papyrus cocked his head thoughtfully. “What about an investment, then? I can pay you, oh, let’s say 525 gold, and then everybody wins! You get money to help open your restaurant and I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, get to help!” He picked up the bag of gold he had brought with him and slid it across the counter.

Grillby stuttered and tried to tell Papyrus that wasn’t quite how investments worked, but Papyrus shrugged him off. “No, I insist! Everyone has to have a job on the Surface and I can be very helpful! Ask Undyne, she used to give me cooking lessons all the time!”

Grillby sighed and acquiesced, no doubt having heard of how he and Undyne liked to cook. It was no matter; Papyrus knew that he wouldn’t be in the way. With Sans’ debt settled, even if Grillby was unaware that was what it was, Papyrus slid off the stool and adjusted his scarf, ready to step back out into the chill Snowdin air. “Goodbye Grillby, and good luck with the move!” He called over his shoulder, his boots traipsing a path through the snow back to their- his- house.

His bag was waiting right where he left it, sitting next to his mailbox. It still seemed strange to him for there to only be one present, but he was quickly growing used to it. Pausing to make sure that he hadn’t left any spaghetti in the fridge, he shouldered his bag and set off on his journey through the Underground.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The warm air in Waterfall felt wonderful on his bones after spending half the morning outside in Snowdin. While he didn’t technically get cold, he could still feel the temperature differences in each of the different areas, so the temperate climate was a nice break from the chill of his home before reaching the sweltering weather in Hotland. His first stop was of course his brother’s former sentry station, though it was more a formality at this point than anything else. He paused and laid a gloved hand on the wood for a moment before moving on. A few rooms later he found the telescope his brother would use to pull that ridiculous trick on unsuspecting individuals and used the tip of his scarf to rub the markings off the end of it. While he didn’t think anyone would fall for it now, he didn’t want some poor monster walking around with a red circle around their eye. Plus, he had heard that the Underground was going to be a tourist attraction for the humans to generate revenue for monsterkind. He wasn’t entirely pleased with the thought of his home being run over by tourists, but Asgore had promised him that he could become one of the official guards/tour guides if he so wished, which would allow him to show off the finer points of his puzzles…well, he could figure that out later.

The rest of his trip through Waterfall was uneventful. He stopped briefly by the Temmie colony, but it appeared they were all staying put for now besides the one who was finally headed for “colleg.” After paying for some extra Temmie Flakes for his journey Papyrus said his final goodbyes to the rest of the Temmies (and Bob) and continued towards Hotland. He had promised Undyne he would meet her near the entrance of Hotlands so they could head onward together. As he approached, he waved enthusiastically to her, not letting her see the mini wave he gave to another one of his brothers’ stations. He knew that stopping by the last of Sans’ stations would be impossible, so he wanted to at least acknowledge the work that his brother did do one last time.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Papyrus hung back, a thoughtful look on his face. “Actually, could I go do one more thing? I wanted to stop by the Core, I have something I need to do there.” He and Undyne had just finished helping Alphys pack up the last of her personal belongings, the lab equipment having already been moved weeks prior. There wasn’t much left, just enough to fill a duffel bag that had clearly been borrowed from the fish monster.

Undyne and Alphys turned to stare at him, confusion apparent on their faces. “T-the Core?” Alphys stuttered out, sending a worried glance towards her girlfriend. Undyne sighed and walked over to Papyrus.

“Pap, does this have anything to do with…Sans?” Undyne asked in a low tone. “You have been making progress lately, I don’t want you to lose that now.”

Papyrus placed a gloved hand on the back of his skull and rubbed sheepishly. “It is, but please let me explain. I figured if I said goodbye, it might be easier to let go of these memories that I have of him. That way I can start fresh on the Surface.” He pleaded, looking at Undyne with wide eyesockets.

Undyne studied him critically and then he felt a check pass over his Soul. He couldn’t blame them, after what had happened, but he knew there was nothing to worry about; he felt the best he had in ages. She seemed satisfied with what she saw and clapped him on the back. “Okay Pap, we will be waiting right here for you so don’t take too long ya numbskull!” She strolled back over to Alphys and slung an arm over her girlfriend, leaning down to kiss the blushing lizard monster.

Papyrus smiled happily at the sight. The two monsters had been forced to confront their feelings for each other after spending so much time with Papyrus since the Barrier fell, especially during the past few weeks of Papyrus’ convalescence. He had finally had to make his “special date” spaghetti for Undyne to muster up the courage to ask Alphys. Papyrus was impressed, she hadn’t even had to take a bite for it to start working! As soon as the two monsters had seen it Undyne whisked Alphys away to Grillbys’ and the rest was history. He waved as he turned around and left, heading towards to Core.

Despite only remembering ever visiting this area during a field trip when he was young, the way felt all too familiar. Of course, now he knew why that was, and he absentmindedly reached into a fold in his scarf to pull out his brother’s journal. He wished Sans had trusted him enough to talk to him about this before, but Papyrus could hardly blame him. Being the only person to remember another monster? No one would have believed him; Papyrus could attest to that.

He opened the journal to the last few pages, stuck in haphazardly. There was one in particularly he was searching for and he found it exactly as he left it, pulling it out gently. Glancing up, he realized he had reached his destination.

“Gaster, I am sorry I never knew you, or tried to find you. From what Flowey said, you and Sans can now keep each other company, so I am happy that neither of you will be lonely! However, I wish you two could have seen the Surface with me.” He laid the hand-drawn picture at the base of the railing; a small smiling skeleton family staring back up at him. “I wish we could be a family again. Everyone wants me to move on, but I am finding it so hard. I know you are not lost, only forgotten. I just don’t want to forget too.”

Papyrus sighed heavily and took a step back, looking upwards into the Core itself. “I love you” he stated simply, tears rolling down his cheek. With one last glance at the picture, he took a deep breath- and threw himself into the Core.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Undyne wrinkled her brow, a strange feeling passing through her. She peered down at Alphys, who had shuddered slightly. “You okay? Feeling cold?” Undyne asked, hugging her girlfriend tighter. It was strange, she couldn’t remember how they ended up together, but she couldn’t be happier.

Alphys shook her head, a claw reaching up to adjust her glasses. “N-no, I just felt a little off. Um, sh-should we get going?”

Undyne grinned wildly and picked their bags up under one arm, her girlfriend under the other. “What are we waiting for, lets go!” She ran off towards the Capital, eager to see the sunset again with her best friend.


End file.
